Skip to main content
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+ The Games, Movies, TV & Comics You Love
flag of UK
UK
flag of US
US
flag of Canada
Canada
flag of Australia
Australia
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Games
  • TV
  • Movies
  • Hardware
  • Video
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Guides
  • Deals
  • More
    • PS5
    • Xbox Series X
    • Nintendo Switch
    • Nintendo Switch 2
    • PC
    • Platforms
    • Tabletop Gaming
    • Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Newsletters
    • About us
    • Features
Total Film
Gaming Magazines
Gaming Magazines
Why subscribe?
  • Subscribe from just £3
  • Takes you closer to the games, movies and TV you love
  • Try a single issue or save on a subscription
  • Issues delivered straight to your door or device
From$12
Subscribe now
Trending
  • Gamescom 2025 schedule
  • Gamescom
  • Battlefield 6
  • New Games for 2025
Don't miss these
Rusty's Retirement
Simulation Games Indie dev behind quietly massive Steam trend says they only learned to code 5 years ago but have made 2 games selling 750,000 copies: "I still don't believe it myself sometimes"
Rusty's Retirement
Simulation Games Where Eric Barone used his indie bucks to buy a proper PC, creator of Stardew Valley-inspired hit Rusty's Retirement says he's got the same $1,000 rig after selling half a million copies: "We've literally done nothing else differently"
Among Us crewmate popping out of a TV with a hush hand sign
Games After handing out millions, Among Us dev says its indie fund has a signing rate roughly 8x higher than most publishers, most of its games are under $500k, just 6 are $1 million or more, and RPGs are king
Schedule I
Games Hits like Schedule 1 are a dangerous bar for indies, Steam expert says: "That top potential has completely warped people's brains about what they should be making"
Split trailer screenshot of man sitting at computer desk
Horror Games He made a viral horror game in 2 months – it sold 6 million copies, and now he can make whatever he wants for the rest of his life: "My final theory is that gambling is very fun"
SuitNtie models
Simulation Games "My savings had run out": In a few months, a Sonic 3 animator made an N64-style game based on an iconic Animal Crossing mechanic and chucked it onto Steam because "I needed to pay rent," and it worked
Zoomed in picture of a Balatro Joker plush.
Games "It was not 'one guy', look at the dang in-game credits": Balatro's Localthunk joins team size discourse after Geoff Keighley fumbled it at Summer Game Fest by saying Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was made by "under 30" people
Rusty's Retirement main character Rusty on a bench
Simulation Games Stardew Valley, Hollow Knight, and a strange strategy game from 2023: the now wildly successful dev behind idle farming sim hit Rusty's Retirement says he learned from the greats, and literally called his latest game "Idle Valley" internally
Ultimate Chicken Horse screenshot of raccoon
Games "Most players have no idea" how much games cost to make and "everything's more expensive than people think," devs say, as indie hits like Balatro are "the exception"
Kaizen: A Factory Story key art featuring a production line making a toy electronic
Simulation Games "Make games and die. That's my plan": Coincidence's Zach Barth on making games about making things, a year of teaching, and being in it for the long haul
Valheim
Survival Games "For five months there was one programmer fixing bugs": Valheim devs were not prepared for their Viking survival game's explosive success
Lilith Walther sits in front of the Nightmare Kart arcade cabinet at the Arcade Commons workshop
Games Mass layoffs, studio closures, and the live-service graveyard are no match for the legally distinct Nightmare Kart arcade cabinet
Best Steam Summer Sale games: A close-up shot of a player holding a gun in Cyberpunk 2077.
Cyberpunk After working on an indie between Cyberpunk 2077 and a new vampire RPG from The Witcher 3 leads, veteran writer says indies have more "constraints" than AAA, but that makes them even more "original and unique"
Baldur's Gate 3 screenshot showing companion Shadowheart, a young half-elf woman with long tied-back black hair
RPGs Baldur's Gate 3 dev says AAA is "perversely fascinated" by indie games, because those devs still understand how to make good ideas that aren't reliant on data
Steam and Valve's Gabe Newell
Games Gabe Newell says he ditched Microsoft and made Valve and Half-Life to prove "a better approach to game design" at a time where "there were more people using Doom than using Windows"
  1. Games
  2. Action

Ask an indie developer: How did your indie career begin?

Features
By GamesRadar Staff published 12 August 2013

Begin at the beginning

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Begin at the beginning

Begin at the beginning

Welcome to the first day of GamesRadars Indie Week, where we celebrate the independent spirit thats alive and well in gaming. Just as we enjoy billion dollar franchises like Assassins Creed and Call of Duty, we also love the titles made outside the big studio system, ones that push the boundaries of gameplay and storytelling to exciting new frontiers. And to get a closer look at what makes indie gaming so interesting, we reached out to some of the biggest names currently on the scene.

All week long well be showcasing the responses of some of the most high profile people behind games like Journey, Super Meat Boy, and Spelunky (to name a few). For our first of the daily features, were going back to the start for these developers to find out how their life as an indie dev began. Some of the answers might surprise you

Page 1 of 17
Page 1 of 17
Jenova Chen, thatgamecompany (Journey)

Jenova Chen, thatgamecompany (Journey)

Technically we werent an financially independent because our past games were funded by Sony, but--to me--the word indie means something different. Its a romantic word. It symbolizes the spirit of risk taking and hard work, driven by strong passion and belief and will. And the indie games are risky mostly because theyre concepts arent financially (yet). So if you count financial risk, then were very indie.

We want to make everyone love video games as a medium, and that requires the industry to provide entertainment to all the different demographics. Man, woman, old and young. Thats the feeling that pushed us to develop. We want to push the boundary of what games can communicate emotionally. We want to explore new types of feeling that will attract gamers and non-gamers alike, including deeper emotions that will not only impress youngsters but touch adults.

Page 2 of 17
Page 2 of 17
Edmund McMillen, Team Meat (Super Meat Boy)

Edmund McMillen, Team Meat (Super Meat Boy)

I started out making indie comics for years, then transitioned into interactive Flash comics. Eventually I moved onto Flash games in 2000-2003. That led to Gish, my first non-Flash indie game, which I sold in 2004.

Page 3 of 17
Page 3 of 17
Collin van Ginkel, Two Tribes (Toki Tori)

Collin van Ginkel, Two Tribes (Toki Tori)

In '99 I bought myself a Game Boy Color, which was surprisingly similar to the old 80s home computers. I collected a small team of friends and people from the demo scene, and set off to create Toki Tori 1. When we sold the game to Capcom in 2001 for way too much money, we knew we had to give indie development a go!

Page 4 of 17
Page 4 of 17
Mike Roush and Alex Neuse, Gaijin Games (Bit.Trip., Runner 2)

Mike Roush and Alex Neuse, Gaijin Games (Bit.Trip., Runner 2)

With a lot of bootstrapping. We made some tough sacrifices, bid adieu to the steady paychecks we received at our other jobs, and went for it. Mind you, we dont mean for that to sound dramatic or gloomy. Weve been stoked about Gaijin Games since day one, and were extremely excited about where the company is headed.

Page 5 of 17
Page 5 of 17
Mel Kirk, Zen Studios (Zen Pinball)

Mel Kirk, Zen Studios (Zen Pinball)

Zen Studios was a work for hire studio for several years which allowed us to grow a small but capable team with expertise across several development platforms. When Xbox Live was introduced, a few of us thought that this might be the door to a different path, one where we could create and publish our own games. The founder of Zen is a huge pinball nut and was bummed that arcades were almost completely gone, fixing pinball machines was becoming increasingly difficult, and it had been a long time since a good pinball video game had been made. We set out to create the best pinball simulation for current gen (Xbox) and pitched Microsoft. They agreed to publish the game, giving us a percent of revenue, and that started the ball rolling. It was not long after that PlayStation Network opened up, allowing Zen Studios to develop and publish titles. From that point we moved away from work for hire and decided to take the path that would allow us to control our own creative vision 100% of the time. What an amazing ride it has been.

Page 6 of 17
Page 6 of 17
Sean Murray, Hello Games (Joe Danger)

Sean Murray, Hello Games (Joe Danger)

The three other founders and I were all at established developers like Criterion and Sumo Digital, so we were all experienced and knew each other really well. But we were getting frustrated with the lack of freedom we had working as employees, so we decided to leave and set up on our own, working out of my dining room to start with. This was like the very early days of indies, so we didnt really know many other developers who had done the same thing. We had the best time, though, building tech and coming up with the game wed wanted to make for years.

Page 7 of 17
Page 7 of 17
Chris Cobb, Ragtag Studios (Rays The Dead)

Chris Cobb, Ragtag Studios (Rays The Dead)

Anyone working in the games industry that has a true passion for making games that they care about, will inevitably become frustrated that they can only have so much impact on the projects they work on. The inability to choose your project, or to have an impact outside of the small sliver of the game you are tasked to work on wears on you after a while.

All three of us at Ragtag care deeply about working on games that are important to us; games that we hope will be important to those who play them. The only way we could do that was to break out on our own and chart our own path to create games that satisfy those needs. All three members of Ragtag Studios worked for larger developers in the industry for more than 14 years. About two years ago, after a lot of soul searching, we all decided to finally take the plunge and take a shot at living the dream thatd been rolling around in our brains for years--quit our cushy jobs and start our own studio! So for the last 18 months, we've all been working from home and working without pay. Its been quite the ride so far, but were optimistic that it will pay off in the end.

Page 8 of 17
Page 8 of 17
Jake Kazdal, 17-Bit (Skulls of the Shogun, Galak-Z)

Jake Kazdal, 17-Bit (Skulls of the Shogun, Galak-Z)

My wife and I had a child and I wasnt leaving the house much, so I needed a hobby for nights and weekends. I decided it was time to find a programmer friend and start working on a fun little iOS title or something. It quickly grew much bigger than we ever anticipated!

Page 9 of 17
Page 9 of 17
Brian Provinciano, Vblank Entertainment (Retro City Rampage)

Brian Provinciano, Vblank Entertainment (Retro City Rampage)

I suppose I was an indie dev before the term was coined as we know it today. I started releasing my own software on the web in the late '90s, then started working for other companies ten years ago. I gained a lot of experience, learned a lot, working at studios from small to AAA. During that time, I continued to work on my own projects in my spare time and saved up as much money as I could. Once my primary side project (Retro City Rampage) was far enough along to give me the confidence to make it a full time job, I took the plunge. While being an indie can be a huge risk, I feel that this approach greatly reduced that.

Page 10 of 17
Page 10 of 17
Kevin Geisler, Young Horses (Octodad: Dadliest Catch)

Kevin Geisler, Young Horses (Octodad: Dadliest Catch)

While at DePaul University, I got the chance to go to the Game Developers Conference and found the Independent Games Festival to be a pretty fascinating experience. All of these studios and groups showing all sorts of innovative game experiences that maybe didnt have the best graphics or countless hours of gameplay, but still provided an extremely memorable experience. That inspired me to join up with some other students to compete in the IGF, which eventually led to the creation of Octodad and the continuation of it as an indie dev.

Page 11 of 17
Page 11 of 17
Jonathan Lavigne, Tribute Games (Mercenary Kings)

Jonathan Lavigne, Tribute Games (Mercenary Kings)

I worked at Ubisoft for about 8 years as an artist and as a game designer, which allowed me to learn almost everything you need to know about making games. Then, when I felt ready and I had enough savings, I went on my own, started learning programming and making small games. After about a year, I had launched my first game, Ninja Senki, and then Jean-Franois and Justin, awesome ex-coworkers from Ubisoft, decided to join the fun. Thats when we founded Tribute Games.

Page 12 of 17
Page 12 of 17
Yousuf Mapara, Switchblade Monkeys (Secret Ponchos)

Yousuf Mapara, Switchblade Monkeys (Secret Ponchos)

I was previously working as a Senior Art Director in the larger AAA space. I would say that every artist has this need to create, and eventually the need to make my own project and creative vision surpassed my desire to have a paycheck. Once that happened I made the plunge.

Page 13 of 17
Page 13 of 17
Bryan Sawler, Muteki Corporation (Dragon Fantasy)

Bryan Sawler, Muteki Corporation (Dragon Fantasy)

Muteki was started with me wanting to make console games. That was always the end-goal. However it took years and years to get there. Instead we spent those years doing contract and consulting work for a bunch of companies, trying to squeeze out enough extra cash to get to spend it on small games in-between. Eventually we could dedicate more and more resources to our own games, to the point where we had a number of full time people for the majority of Dragon Fantasy Book II.

Page 14 of 17
Page 14 of 17
Derek Yu (Spelunky)

Derek Yu (Spelunky)

I started making games as a kid, using game-making software like Klik n' Play. Aside from the tools I use to make games, my process hasn't changed all that much since then.

Page 15 of 17
Page 15 of 17
Graham Smith, Drinkbox Studios (Guacamelee!)

Graham Smith, Drinkbox Studios (Guacamelee!)

A group of us formed DrinkBox Studios shortly after Pseudo Interactive (our former employer) shut down. At the time, we didnt want to leave Toronto, and we thought the timing was right to start our own thing. We met with many of the other indies in the city to get advice, and then started the company "Not a Number Software" before quickly realizing that this name was terrible, and changed it to "DrinkBox Studios".

Page 16 of 17
Page 16 of 17
Just the start

Just the start

So now we know how these devs began, but theres so much more we want to know. Like what theyd do with a huge budget, or what they think of next-gen. Stick with us this week to see those burning questions answered!

And if you're looking for more indie love, check out the top 7 best indie crossovers and what is indie?

Page 17 of 17
Page 17 of 17
CATEGORIES
Android iPad iPhone PC Gaming Wii-u Nintendo PlayStation PS4 Xbox Xbox One Platforms Mobile Gaming
PRODUCTS
Retro City Rampage Super Meat Boy Runner 2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien
GamesRadar Staff
Social Links Navigation

GamesRadar+ was first founded in 1999, and since then has been dedicated to delivering video game-related news, reviews, previews, features, and more. Since late 2014, the website has been the online home of Total Film, SFX, Edge, and PLAY magazines, with comics site Newsarama joining the fold in 2020. Our aim as the global GamesRadar Staff team is to take you closer to the games, movies, TV shows, and comics that you love. We want to upgrade your downtime, and help you make the most of your time, money, and skills. We always aim to entertain, inform, and inspire through our mix of content - which includes news, reviews, features, tips, buying guides, and videos.

See more PC Gaming Features
Read more
Rusty's Retirement
Indie dev behind quietly massive Steam trend says they only learned to code 5 years ago but have made 2 games selling 750,000 copies: "I still don't believe it myself sometimes"
Rusty's Retirement
Where Eric Barone used his indie bucks to buy a proper PC, creator of Stardew Valley-inspired hit Rusty's Retirement says he's got the same $1,000 rig after selling half a million copies: "We've literally done nothing else differently"
Among Us crewmate popping out of a TV with a hush hand sign
After handing out millions, Among Us dev says its indie fund has a signing rate roughly 8x higher than most publishers, most of its games are under $500k, just 6 are $1 million or more, and RPGs are king
Schedule I
Hits like Schedule 1 are a dangerous bar for indies, Steam expert says: "That top potential has completely warped people's brains about what they should be making"
SuitNtie models
"My savings had run out": In a few months, a Sonic 3 animator made an N64-style game based on an iconic Animal Crossing mechanic and chucked it onto Steam because "I needed to pay rent," and it worked
Split trailer screenshot of man sitting at computer desk
He made a viral horror game in 2 months – it sold 6 million copies, and now he can make whatever he wants for the rest of his life: "My final theory is that gambling is very fun"
Latest in Action
Hideo Kojima in a screenshot from the Xbox and Bethesda 2022 showcase.
Hideo Kojima will give a "glimpse into future projects" at his "Beyond The Strand" anniversary event for Kojima Productions' 10th birthday this month
Kaser stands in front of a glowing blue background as the imprisoned dragon Lord Arena swirls behind him like a fish - key art from Lost Soul Aside used on the PlayStation store
Lost Soul Aside review: "We (don't) have Final Fantasy Versus 13 at home"
Valor Mortis
Ghostrunner devs abandon parkour for Valor Mortis, a first-person soulslike that might explain why the rest of the genre follows Dark Souls' lead
A screenshot of James Bond in 007 First Light's reveal trailer.
007 First Light is getting its own dedicated PlayStation State of Play this week, with "over 30 minutes of gameplay" including James Bond's "first mission as an MI6 recruit"
Hollow Knight: Silksong
When is Hollow Knight Silksong out? Release date and time
Hollow Knight: Silksong screenshot showing Hornet being attacked by a giant enemy.
Hollow Knight: Silksong price is $20, Team Cherry confirms, laughing in the face of $80 games as it cements one of the most anticipated indies of all time as just $5 more than its predecessor
Latest in Features
Borderlands 4 screenshot shows someone holding a weapon forward towards the camera.
"We tend to commit to the bit": Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford talks Borderlands 4, the evolution of looter-shooters, and $80 game discourse
A mech firing a machine gun in the desert in Menace
Menace is an XCOM-Warhammer hybrid that makes turn-based strategy feel like an immersive sim, and for the first time in my life I'm playing a game that seems made for me
Metal Gear Solid 5 showing Snake and Ocelot looking to the horizon in front of more soldiers
10 years later, Metal Gear Solid 5 remains a masterpiece that was never going to live up to its own hype
Dogtooth
The new Yorgos Lanthimos movie is getting rave first reactions out of Venice Film Festival, but I think it's worth revisiting his breakout feature Dogtooth before Bugonia hits theaters this fall
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Legacy of the Forge DLC showing Henry and two allies standing looking down
I built a home and ran a business in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's next DLC, and the added role-playing guarantees I'll spend another 70 hours in my current game of the year
D&D Player's Handbook laid out on a wooden surface
Will romantasy be the next great crossover for Dungeons & Dragons? Fourth Wing could be the perfect D&D setting, if you ask me
  1. Kaser clad in black and Victor in white clash swords in Lost Soul Aside
    1
    Lost Soul Aside review: "We (don't) have Final Fantasy Versus 13 at home"
  2. 2
    Hell is Us review: "The lack of waypoints and explicit objectives is a double-edged magical sword that pulls me deep into its harsh world"
  3. 3
    Shuten Order review: "The Danganronpa creator's new multi-genre mystery feels like a forgotten DS cult classic I would have been obsessed with"
  4. 4
    The Rogue Prince of Persia review: "I roguelike but don't roguelove this freerunner – there's just not enough to stand out"
  5. 5
    Shinobi: Art of Vengeance review: "So close to being to a pitch-perfect revival of a classic series, but just can't quite line up the killing blow"
  1. Jacob Elordi as the monster in Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein
    1
    Frankenstein review: "A classy, if somewhat safe, adaptation"
  2. 2
    The Fantastic Four: First Steps review: "An occasionally thrilling heroic adventure that sits safely within a B-tier MCU range"
  3. 3
    Superman review: "A triumphant reinvention and a promising start for the DCU"
  4. 4
    Jurassic World Rebirth Review: "An unscary sequel that needed a little more time in amber"
  5. 5
    M3GAN 2.0 review: "A bold sequel with a slightly underwhelming conclusion"
  1. John Cena as Peacemaker holds a gun to the head of a different John Cena as Peacemaker in Peacemaker season 2.
    1
    Peacemaker season 2 review: "Darker and sadder than the first year, but there's still a lot of fun to be had with the 11th Street Kids."
  2. 2
    Wednesday season 2 part 1 review: "Complex and exciting but weighed down by too many subplots"
  3. 3
    Alien: Earth review: "Arguably the franchise's strongest outing since James Cameron's Aliens"
  4. 4
    King of the Hill season 14 review: "Hank Hill himself has evolved into a much more open and accepting person"
  5. 5
    Eyes of Wakanda review: "A creative premise shortchanged by the runtime and Marvel bloat"

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...